1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to a retention system adapted to hold an item on a moving bicycle, and more specifically relates to a retention system in which two adjacent structures are mounted to a bicycle.
2. Background Art
Bicycle riding is an activity engaged in world-wide for recreation, competition, and as a means of transportation. In the U.S. alone, 65 million people are thought to ride regularly. As with any physical activity, cycling consumes energy and causes the participant to perspire, thus requiring the cyclist who wishes to ride in comfort, compete at a high level, or remain on the bike for long distances or periods of time, to replace essential nutrients during the ride itself. This in turn requires that the cyclist carry with him on the bicycle water, a sports drink, or other such items as will replenish his energy and quench his thirst.
A further reason for bicycle storage and carrying capacity has come with the development of bicycle accessories such as head lamps, odometers, and other electrical devices whose operation depends on power supplied by a battery. A conventional battery pack lasts for about two hours, and the accessory powered by it often takes up one of the bottle holders. First aid and bike repair kits may also be desirable while riding a bike, and a way to comfortably, safely, and securely transport these items must be provided.
One solution to the problem of accessory transport is to mount a metal water bottle holder to the frame of a bicycle. These bottle holders work for batteries as well as water bottles because batteries have been developed that adopt the shape of a typical bike water bottle. Sometimes additional bottle holders are mounted to a second location on the bike frame. In this way an additional water bottle or other accessory may be taken along on a bike ride. These measures, however, do not adequately address the accessory transport problem. A bike frame offers limited space in which to mount a bottle holder, and the mounting locations convenient to a rider""s reach are still more limited in number. If one or more of these few locations is devoted to, for example, a battery or a first aid kit, the rider is forced to make do with perhaps a single water bottle, and must therefore shorten the length and reduce the intensity of his rides.
The need for larger amounts of water has been addressed, with partial success, by hydration packs that may be worn on the back like a backpack. Yet these are very difficult to clean, especially after having been filled with a sticky sports drink, and thus are likely to harbor bacteria, mold, and other unwanted or dangerous substances. Hydration packs also are bulky and limit maneuverability.
Therefore, there existed a need to provide a bicycle-mounted accessory transport system that provides increased capacity and accessibility without limiting maneuverability and flexibility. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a bicycle accessory transport system comprises two stacked structures adapted to receive an accessory item such as a water bottle, a battery, or a repair kit and hold such item securely and safely during a bike ride. The two structures are attached to each other in such a way that the back of an upper one is in contact with the front of a lower one, while the back of the lower one is attached to a suitable location on a bike frame. An item being inserted into the lower structure is guided into place by the back of the upper structure. In one embodiment of the invention, the spacing between the two structures may be varied by the user due to the presence of a pivot or other adjustment mechanism.
The stacked transport system of the present invention increases a bicycle""s accessory carrying capacity by adding an upper structure and thus utilizing otherwise wasted space. At the same time, the invention increases the accessibility of the accessories thus transported by locating them within a rider""s reach, by taking advantage of their shape, which tends to encourage an item onto the proper entry/exit line, and by increasing adjustability, whether through a pivot mechanism, flexible materials, or otherwise, to allow a variation in the structure spacing. The system may be installed using the same procedure, tools, and hardware that are currently used for a single structure. Because the disclosed system allows a rider to carry more accessories than do previous systems, the invention makes possible longer, more strenuous, and thus more enjoyable and less frustrating rides.
Although the invention is generally described as a bicycle-mounted system above, it also has utility in other environments such as when mounted to a golf cart, on heavy machinery, on stationary exercise equipment like treadmills or exercise bikes, or any similar location where maximizing storage capacity in limited space is desirable. When mounted to a treadmill, for example, a runner may store more water or other accessories than would be possible without the invention, and the accessories would be accessible during the workout session.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of particular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.